Posts about Public Policy
February 5, 2024
2024 Weekly Legislative Update #3
February 5, 2024 LD 780 – RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Protect Personal Reproductive Autonomy was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with a divided report. Democrats on the committee supported...
January 30, 2024
2024 Weekly Legislative Update #2
January 28, 2024 The legislative committees continue to hold public hearings and work on bills at a very quick pace although not necessarily on bills we are working on. Read the legislative report here. Remember,...
January 16, 2024
2024 Weekly Legislative Update #1
January 15, 2024 The second session of the Maine Legislature is off and running. Having carried over a record number of bills from the first session and adding another 100 or so “Emergency” bills, every...
January 11, 2024
The Gun Safety Day of Action, and What’s Next
Dozens of Episcopalians were among the hundreds of Mainers gathered at the Maine State House in Augusta on January 3—the first day of the new legislative session—to press for gun safety reform. Among them was...
November 1, 2023
A Pastoral Word from Bishop Brown
A Pastoral Word from Bishop Thomas Brown to the Episcopal Diocese of Maine in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston 27 October 2023 On Wednesday evening, our beloved community of Lewiston joined the...
October 12, 2023
2023 Legislative Review
October 12, 2023 The Maine Council of Churches Public Policy Committee met yesterday to do a final debrief of the legislative session. I co-chair this group and was excited to meet, mostly in person,...
May 10, 2023
Maine Episcopalians advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights
A group of Maine Episcopalians from three parishes (Trinity in Portland, St. Albans in Cape Elizabeth, and St. Ann’s in Windham) recently joined forces to express their faith-based support for gender justice to their legislators....
April 7, 2023
Advocacy Update – April 2023
It has been a busy couple of weeks on the advocacy front now that the legislature has dealt with the statebudget. Speaking of the budget, you have heard the democratic majority passed a budget that...
March 21, 2023
Advocacy Report – A Busy 90 Days Coming Up
Update March 18, 2023 The 131st Legislature was very slow to take off and is just now shifting into a quicker pace. As of March 17th, 1210, of an expected 2,000 +/- bills have been...
February 20, 2023
Diocese Working with Government Agencies to Address Current Homelessness Crisis
Update February 20, 2023 Jane Field of the Maine Council of Churches and I participated in a call with state officials from the Governor’s office, the Department of Health and Human Services, Portland legislators, the...